On Oct. 2, 2024, the day two NASCAR teams shocked the industry by filing a joint antitrust lawsuit against the sport, Jeffrey Kessler, their lead counsel, made no bones about what was to come.
“This is reminiscent for me of many sports that have gone through a transformative model,” said Kessler. “(It’s) sort of a moment when the legal system basically confronts them and says, either you’re going to voluntarily change or you’re going to be changed and you can either get on the bus or get run over by the bus. No one wanted this litigation but NASCAR didn’t really give these teams any choice – you either submit to the bully or you fight. They’re going to fight.
“We think at the end of the day, NASCAR’s going to have to change because that’s what the legal system is going to require.”
It took 435 days for those words to come true.
NASCAR settled with 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports on Dec. 11. It happened after there had been eight days of dirty laundry aired in court, which followed the dirty laundry that had previously come out during hearings and discovery over the last 14 months.
Denny Hamlin, Michael Jordan and Bob Jenkins are taking their victory lap. They are being celebrated as heroes, game changers, and brave for taking the action that they did and prevailing. For some, David took down Goliath. Or the bully was finally put in its place.
The sport will indeed change. But the question is, how will that be shown going forward?
Judge Kenneth Bell said from the bench, after reviewing the settlement deal before allowing the parties to execute it, he was happy with what it comprises. Bell praised both sides for finally reaching an agreement and for their hard work, though he wished it had happened sooner.
“This is going to be great for NASCAR,” Bell said. “The entity NASCAR, the industry NASCAR, the teams, the drivers and, as you have said yourselves, ultimately the fans.”
It was a long way from Bell saying in June, “I am once again amazed at the effort going on to burn this house down over everyone’s head, but I’m the fire marshal, and I’ll be here in December if need be.”
Bell, by the way, served as an excellent main character of this saga alongside a host of lawyers (seriously, there were so many lawyers) that showed everyone why they are the best in their respective fields and feisty when need be. He was the right man for the job of overseeing what will go down as NASCAR’s trial of the century, with both humor and take-no-crap approach.
Cup Series teams now have permanent charters. Mission accomplished: they got one of the four pillars they wanted during those two years of negotiations.
It appears that the revenue split will also be adjusted. Another mission accomplished from what the teams originally wanted. But it’s hard to imagine that variable will have any effect outside the race shops. Money makes the world go round, so its impact can’t be discounted.
A seat at the table, or having a voice, has been given back to the teams. They argued that NASCAR’s elimination of its three-strike rule left them with no say in the sport’s governance. It appears they will now have a five-strike rule.
At the heart of it all, the teams wanted to feel valued as both partners of the sport and in their bank accounts. Again, time will tell if that happens, but for now, as one of the lasting images of the case, Michael Jordan and Jim France were standing side by side, telling everyone that a compromise has been reached and now it’s time to focus on racing.
“On behalf of the France family and for the sake of the 75 years they’ve invested in building this sport into what it is today and for the fans and for the sport,” John Stephenson Jr., the personal attorney of Jim France, said, “we’re glad to put these differences behind us in this lawsuit, lock arms, move together preserving the charter system for the benefit of all the stakeholders and growing this sport and the fan experience to be the greatest in all of sports.”
Do not be fooled, though; it might have been just business to some, but there were a lot of personal feelings involved, too. All of the handshakes and friendly mingling in the courtroom after the settlement was reached aren’t going to erase that and NASCAR, as a sport, has gone through a very public and ugly battle.
The court of public opinion is unhappy. NASCAR has taken a beating in that area, and they are going to have to reckon with that.
The comments made via text messages and emails were not intended to be made public. If we’re honest with ourselves, it’s human nature to say regretful and even horrid things behind someone’s back. But when it’s done by high-profile people – and made public – there needs to be a reaction.
NASCAR needs to show it has integrity and respect for its competitors. The garage needs to be able to respect and trust those they are working with. And the fans need to feel like there are adults in charge.
For now, though, fortunately, the biggest and ugliest fight is over, and we buckle up to see how it shapes the future. But in the end, it’ll never be forgotten that Jeffrey Kessler was right all along.
